If you’ve been summoned for DC jury duty, you have five days to respond, usually through the court’s eJuror online portal. Most people report to D.C. Superior Court for a single day, and if you aren’t picked for a trial panel that day, your service is done. If you are picked, a typical trial runs three to five days. Ignoring the summons can bring a fine or jail time, so respond even if you plan to ask for a postponement or excusal.
Who Has to Serve
To be eligible for jury service in D.C. Superior Court, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, a resident of the District, and able to read, speak, and understand English.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 11-1906 – Qualification of Jurors There’s no minimum length of residency, so new residents can be called.
You’re disqualified if a physical or mental condition prevents you from serving satisfactorily, or if you have a pending felony or misdemeanor charge. A prior felony conviction disqualifies you only temporarily: you become eligible again one year after completing your full sentence, including probation or parole, through a certification process set out in the court’s jury system plan.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 11-1906 – Qualification of Jurors
Responding to Your Summons
The five-day response window starts when the summons arrives.2District of Columbia Courts. Jurors The eJuror portal lets you complete the Juror Questionnaire and handle most administrative steps without calling or visiting the courthouse.
Deferrals
If the date doesn’t work, D.C. law allows a deferral based on undue hardship, extreme inconvenience, public necessity, or a temporary physical or mental condition that would interfere with service.3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 11-1909 – Deferral From Jury Service In practice, eJuror handles a one-time postponement fairly easily. Extended or repeated deferrals generally require written documentation such as a medical certificate or proof of hardship.
Excusals
Some situations qualify you to be excused entirely rather than rescheduled. The court lists serious illness or disability, caring for a child under two and a half years old, and recent prior service among the grounds.4District of Columbia Courts. About Your Jury Duty Requests to be excused generally require supporting documentation.
What the Day Looks Like
Call the jury information line at 202-879-4604 (Option 5) after 5:00 p.m. the evening before your date to confirm you still need to appear. Grand jurors skip the call and simply show up.2District of Columbia Courts. Jurors
Bring your summons and a valid photo ID, plus anything you’ll want for a long wait: a phone or laptop with charger, reading material, snacks, and bottled water. Weapons and sharp items are prohibited. You’ll report to the Juror Office at the Moultrie Courthouse, pass through security, and watch an orientation video before waiting for your name to be called.2District of Columbia Courts. Jurors
Superior Court operates on a “one day or one trial” system for petit jurors. If your name isn’t called for a trial panel that day, service is complete. If you are called, you go through voir dire, where the judge and attorneys ask questions to decide whether each prospective juror can be fair and impartial. Selected jurors serve for the length of the trial, typically three to five days.4District of Columbia Courts. About Your Jury Duty Grand jury service is a far bigger commitment, running roughly 25 workdays.
Pay and Job Protection
The D.C. Code sets a floor of $30 per day in attendance fees for jurors who actually serve, plus a travel allowance of up to $2 per day. Jurors whose employers keep paying their regular salary during service do not receive the attendance fee. If you’re summoned for petit jury service but never placed on a trial, you get no attendance fee at all.5D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 15-718 – Juror Fees
The Board of Judges of the Superior Court can raise both the attendance fee and the travel allowance above those statutory floors, and has done so.5D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 15-718 – Juror Fees Check the D.C. Courts website or your summons materials for the current rate.
If you work full-time in the District, your employer must pay your usual compensation for up to five days of jury service, minus whatever attendance fee you receive from the court. You aren’t a “full-time employed juror” on any day you wouldn’t have earned regular wages anyway. Employers with ten or fewer employees are exempt from the pay requirement entirely.5D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 15-718 – Juror Fees
D.C. law also prohibits employers from firing, threatening, or otherwise retaliating against an employee for receiving a summons, responding to it, serving on a jury, or attending court for prospective service. Violations are punishable as criminal contempt, and an employee fired in retaliation can sue to recover lost wages, get reinstated, and collect attorney fees.6D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 11-1913 – Protection of Employment of Jurors An employer who simply fails to pay you during your first five days of service can also be sued directly for the unpaid wages and attorney fees.5D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 15-718 – Juror Fees
What Happens If You Skip
Ignoring a jury summons is not a low-stakes gamble. D.C. Superior Court has issued bench warrants for jurors who failed to appear, and the penalties include fines of up to $300 or up to seven days in jail. The same penalties can apply if you’re ordered to a show-cause hearing and don’t attend that either.7Superior Court of the District of Columbia. DC Superior Court Issues Bench Warrants for Jury Duty No-Shows
Reporting Jury Pay on Your Taxes
Attendance fees count as taxable income. The IRS classifies jury duty pay as “Other Income,” which means you report it on your federal return even if the amount is small.8Internal Revenue Service. Is the Payment I Received for Jury Duty Taxable? Travel reimbursements are generally not part of that taxable amount.
If your employer paid your regular wages during service but required you to hand over the court’s attendance fee, you still report the full jury pay as income, and then deduct the surrendered amount as an adjustment to income on your return. The net effect is a wash, but you have to record both sides.
If Your Summons Is From Federal Court
A D.C. address can also produce a summons from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which is a separate court handling federal cases. The qualifications overlap with Superior Court’s but aren’t identical: federal jurors must be U.S. citizens, at least 18, D.C. residents, and able to read, write, speak, and understand English. Anyone with a felony conviction whose civil rights haven’t been restored, or with a pending felony charge punishable by more than a year in prison, is ineligible.9United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Jury Frequently Asked Questions
Federal juror pay starts at $50 per day and can rise to $60 after ten days of service, or after 45 days for grand jurors, and jurors are reimbursed for reasonable transportation costs. Skipping a federal summons without good cause is a bigger deal than skipping a local one: the penalty is a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or any combination of those.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1866 – Selection and Summoning of Jury Panels Federal grand jury service is also a much longer commitment, typically one to three days per month over an 18-month term.